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墨書 Inktalez
Zhang Zijun was pressed against the car as we arrived at the police station, and throughout the journey, he didn't utter a single word. He resembled a scarecrow in a field, reduced to just a shell of a body. In the car, no matter how much we three questioned and threatened him, Zhang Zijun remained completely silent. Now, he sat in the interrogation room.
When Chen Bo returned, it was midnight.
In the interrogation room, Zhang Zijun had his head lowered, seemingly lost in thought.
Chen Bo asked, "You caught him so quickly? Have you found Hu Ningning?"
I shook my head and replied, "Zhang Zijun seems to have realized our intentions. Now that I think about it carefully, it appears he deliberately wanted to draw our attention. Since we brought him back, he hasn't said a word; his silence must have a deeper reason behind it, and that's what we need to investigate."
We sat in the interrogation room. When Gu Chen tapped his fingers on the table for the twenty-second time, we had already been silently staring at each other for ten minutes. In Zhang Zijun's eyes, I saw determination.
I spoke up, "Zhang Zijun, I didn't expect we'd meet again so soon. It's obvious that you are the Murderer, but you're a Murderer with accomplices. You kidnapped Hu Ningning, killed Li Jun and Liang Zhengyu, and there's also Guo Li, whose whereabouts are unknown—am I right?"
Zhang Zijun let out a cold laugh and finally spoke, "I don't know what you're talking about. I was just bored at home and wanted to go out for a walk."
I shrugged. "Out for a walk at eleven o'clock at night instead of sleeping at home?"
"Is that not allowed?" Zhang Zijun replied. "Does the law prohibit residents from walking at night?"
I nodded. "The law doesn't specifically say that; however, you certainly wouldn't be out for a stroll at midnight. When we visited your home earlier, it was spotless—hardly what you'd expect from a man living alone. Yet your shoes contrasted sharply with the cleanliness of your home; this indicates you don't have obsessive cleanliness."
"I initially suspected that place might be where you tortured children," I continued. "But now I understand it's not like that at all. The reason you kept your house so clean is that you wanted to hide one crucial piece of information: there used to be a woman living there."
I glanced back at Mary and said, "As a woman, she would likely leave traces behind. You cleaned so thoroughly because you wanted to erase any evidence of her presence. I found no signs of a woman in the sink or wastebasket, but one detail gave you away."
Zhang Zijun frowned, remaining silent.
I spoke up, "The hand sanitizer. The hand sanitizer betrayed you; its placement is too low. When someone puts something down, it’s either for aesthetics or convenience, and your hand sanitizer is difficult to reach and not visually appealing. So, you hardly ever use it, which is why its position has remained unchanged since your wife left it there, and she was about 1.6 meters tall."
Zhang Zijun continued to stare at me without saying a word.
I continued, "This detail may not reveal much on its own, but it raises suspicion. You still have your wedding photo, and the glass is quite clean, indicating that you often wipe it. While I was looking at your family portrait, my gaze was actually fixed on the wedding photo next to it."
"You did well; it's just that you couldn't hide your feelings any deeper. Otherwise, I would have believed you were innocent." I said, "But that's not the case. You loved your wife very much. The reason you divorced her was merely to facilitate this plan."
"You helped each other in committing murder. However, at this final moment, you had a disagreement because you realized that the more people you killed, the easier it would be for you to be exposed. So you were deciding who would take the blame if someone had to die; losing one person is better than both of you dying."
Upon hearing my words, Zhang Zijun stared at me. I noticed his lips moved slightly, but in the end, he still did not speak, appearing to hide something.
I ignored Zhang Zijun and continued, "Guo Li was the third person you planned to kill. The one who took Guo Li away was Ha Li Min; she was the murderer, but you were the one who made the call. You didn’t expect Ha Li Min to take the fall; she didn’t follow your instructions, which is why you called us before Guo Li had died."
I locked eyes with Zhang Zijun and slowly spoke to him: "Time was too tight. You made that call hoping we could search for the murderer within a certain range while Ha Li Min could use that time to drive Guo Li anywhere she wanted."
"In fact, we all overlooked one point," I said. "We assumed the murderer could only cover about forty miles in such a short time, but we neglected that after making the call, the murderer likely continued driving. So you deliberately guided us within this range, and I suspect Ha Li Min is definitely outside of this forty-mile radius."
Zhang Zijun snorted coldly and said, "I don’t know what you're talking about."
I continued, "In truth, you also don’t know where Guo Li is right now. So you can only hold on; otherwise, you would have confessed long ago. But if you confess now, we will definitely ask where Guo Li and Hu Ningning are located, and at this moment, you can’t be sure of their whereabouts either. So you must endure while also letting us know that you are the murderer."
"You're in a tough spot, but do you really think Ha Li Min would just leave you alone?" I said. "Even if you got in, Ha Li Min would continue her crimes. There's also another person involved, a boy named Yang Ting, who has already taken things this far. Do you think she would stop?"
I turned to Zhang Zijun and continued, "Actually, your initial plan was quite clever. One person was responsible for purchasing the tools needed for murder, while another made the calls. The voice was that of a man, and after analysis, it was confirmed to be a man's voice. So during the investigation, the police only looked for men and never thought to search for a woman."
At this point, I addressed Chen Boda: "So go look for Ha Li Min. You should be able to find her information and check if this woman has ever purchased a Fishhook."
Chen Bo nodded.
I went on, "Your idea was good—using a man's voice as a disguise while it was actually a woman committing the murders. This division of labor may seem unreasonable at first glance, but it's quite logical. A woman can more easily connect with children; I realized this when I saw Liang Zhengyu's body."
I spoke again, "At that time, I noticed a strange mark on the tree, but I didn't come forward because I didn't know what it was. Now everything is clear. That mark was left by a movable pulley. A man could easily lift a child up with his strength, but it would indeed take some time for a woman."
"Let me guess why you did this," I said, looking at Zhang Zijun seriously. "Because compared to men, women have deeper feelings about love and hate. It's not so strange for a mother to take revenge for her child."
Zhang Zijun's expression became somewhat unnatural.
I continued, "This brings us to an important question: why did you do this? According to our investigation, your child Zhang Zuocheng suffered abuse at the hands of these people. Zhang Zuocheng committed suicide in a very peculiar manner. If he weren't utterly despairing, he wouldn't have done that."
"We don't know the reason behind this, and are you planning to take this secret to your grave?"
I slammed my hand on the table and said sternly, "You have a good education; you came from humble beginnings too. Do you really believe that anyone can rise above their circumstances unscathed? Even if the lotus flower ignores the mud, the mud will cling to it nonetheless. You think your child could manage that? Not everyone is as fortunate as you."
"When he was bullied at school, you weren't there. When he was abused at school, you also weren't there. Every time he came home from school, he faced an empty house with no one inside. When you returned home, he was asleep; when you left, he was still asleep."
"You have no idea how many scars he has, nor do you know who took his toys away. All you care about is how much money you can give him today and how much you can earn."
I slowly began to speak, "Right now, you could be considered a wealthy man in this town. But even if you could buy ten thousand official Transformers, that broken Transformer is something you've already lost. However, when I saw that Transformer appear in the dilapidated house while you were being watched, I knew your wife loves you very much. Now that you're being controlled, you probably can't make any phone calls. So you have two choices: first, tell us where Hu Ningning and Guo Li are, to stop your wife from continuing to kill."
"Second," I continued, "we can just drag this out and let your wife take the fall."
"But can a big man like you really do something like this?" I leaned closer to Zhang Zijun, speaking each word clearly. "You sit here in silence; I truly have no more evidence to directly prove that you are the murderer. You can choose to remain silent and be a complete coward, or you can step up."
Zhang Zijun's throat moved slightly, indicating he was thinking.
I continued to guide him, "Think about it—Hu Ningning is innocent. She didn't participate in abusing your child; you know that as well as I do. You only captured Hu Ningning to get to those children from the past. You know the School Leader's number; you've been planning this for a long time."
"If Hu Ningning dies of thirst or hunger, wouldn't she become just like your child?" I said. "I understand your actions, but don't let Hu Ningning become the second Zhang Zuocheng."
"Think carefully."
I spoke softly.
"I..."
Zhang Zijun finally spoke up.
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